Stimulus funds helping to keep weather outside

Jeff Forman/JForman@News-Herald.com

Adam Mitcham, of the Ashtabula County Community Action Agency, drills holes into an exterior wall Tuesday at Bienvenida Salgado's house in Painesville in order to install insulation. Mitcham had to wear protective clothing during this part of the job because of lead in the paint.

Jeff Loyd of the Ashtabula County Community Action Agency installs insulation into an exterior wall Tuesday at Bienvenida Salgado's house in Painesville.

Bienvenida Salgado can say goodbye to a $500 winter heating bill and air conditioning that hurts her bones.

Her house is being weatherized.

The Painesville resident was one of many homeowners this year who qualified for the weatherization program, which Ashtabula County Community Action Agency's Housing Division offers to residents in Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties.

"My daughter found this program. I don't have insulation in my house and the air conditioner works, but I don't use it much because my bones hurt," Salgado said.

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"In the winter, my bill was almost $500 per month. My house was very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer."

Living alone and with the recent passing of her dog, Chloe, Salgado was plagued with anxiety over a possible fire or something going wrong in the house.

Now, with all the inspections done and upgrades to her home, including more energy efficient light bulbs, insulation and a new thermostat, Salgado said she feels like she can sleep in peace.

"And it's thanks to all these people who have helped me. It's been a blessing for me," she said.

"They've been kind and patient in helping me. I am really grateful for the work they've done for us."

The Action Agency's weatherization program is the Housing Division's main program, Director of Housing Carmen Kuula said.

"The weatherization program is an income-based program for (people at or below) 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines," Kuula said.

"For a family of four, that's an annual income of $44,100. They do not have to be the homeowner. We can do it for rentals as well, as long as the landlord is willing to participate with us. There may be some participation that is required from the landlord toward the costs, depending on the situation."

This would include any health or safety issues that need addressing, like replacing a furnace, at which point half the cost would be borne by the landlord, unless the landlord also qualifies for the program, said Mark Mizak, assistant director of housing.

The average cost for weatherizing a house is $5,567, which includes the actual labor costs as well as support costs for inspections, vehicles, materials and equipment, Mizak said.

However, depending on the home, there might be additional funds that they qualify for, Kuula said.

"We take a 'whole house' approach and provide as much assistance as possible based on what the household is eligible for. Some of the additional funds include Community Connections and Housewarming, utility funded programs of FirstEnergy and Dominion respectively," Kuula said.

The applicant also may be eligible for other programs through United Way, Area Agency on Aging, or other agencies and organizations, depending on what county the home is in, Kuula said.

"We will take the application, see if they're eligible. Once eligibility is determined, they receive priority points," Kuula said.

"Some of those factors may be, if there's a person over 60 in the home, individuals who are disabled, children, the type of fuel source they use, are they in a rental, what county -- different things that go into making up that priority ranking."

After that is established, Kuula said, the agency performs the jobs in priority order and starts the weatherization process by sending someone out to do an estimation.

"They gather all the data, do some customer education, talking about ways (customers) can save energy just within changing some of their habits within the household," Kuula said.

"Then they come back and write up what would be needed to make the home as energy efficient as possible."

The next step is having technicians go to the home and do a more detailed inspection of the combustion appliances -- such as the furnace, hot water tank or gas oven -- to make any repairs that might be necessary there, Kuula said.

"Then we schedule the insulation crews," she said.

"They ... come and either put insulation in the side walls, attic, depending on what the house requires, the floor, ceiling ... any leaks. And then pretty much, we're done."

On average, the process can reduce energy costs by about 25 percent, Kuula said.

That can save an average of about $350 a year.

While the Action Agency has been doing weatherizations for more than 25 years, recent American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars have enabled them to step up their game.

"We went from doing 186 homes in a 12-month period to being targeted to do 675 homes in a 21-month period, so almost three times more," Kuula said.

Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher and Cathy Zoi, U.S. Department of Energy assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy, just recently announced that Ohio has weatherized 11,688 homes under the ARRA as of April 30 and is one of the country's weatherization leaders.

Under the Recovery Act, Ohio was allocated $266.7 million for the weatherization programs, which includes the state partnering with local community action agencies, such as Ashtabula, or nonprofit organizations to provide whole-home weatherization services.

As Kuula mentioned, these include conducting an energy audit in the home to identify the most cost-effective improvements and implementing solutions that range from installing additional insulation and weatherstripping, sealing windows and doors, caulking cracks in the building, and replacing inefficient heating and cooling systems.

"From what we're told, Ohio is leading the nation in the production of units and getting these moneys out ... doing what they were intended to do," Kuula said. "It's saving consumers energy as well as creating jobs locally."

According to the state, more than 1,310 workers were employed by state and local weatherization providers during the first three months of the year.

The state previously only had access to the first 50 percent of the ARRA funding.

However, by weatherizing more than 30 percent of their total estimated homes and meeting a series of aggressive accountability and reporting milestones, Ohio now has access to the full $266.7 million.

"What we see here today is that states like Ohio are moving forward aggressively with the weatherization program, delivering energy and cost savings for the families who need it most," Zoi said in a statement.

"This Recovery Act funding is helping to create jobs in local communities while putting America on the path to a clean energy future."

Ohio plans to weatherize a total of more than 32,180 homes with their Recovery Act funding.

For more information or to request an application, call the Action Agency at 440-998-4996 or 800-252-5249.

Income eligibility -- Size of Annual household income

1 -- $21,660

2 -- $29,140

3 -- $36,620

4 -- $44,100

5 -- $51,580

6 -- $59,060

7 -- $66,540

8 -- $74,020

For family units with more than eight members, add $7,480 for each additional member